The Raiders had a day off of practice Thursday and, not coincidentally, signed the recently drafted Terrelle Pryor to a contract on the same day. The deal is for 4 years, $2.7 million with a $586,000 signing bonus.

The Raiders chose Pryor with the 18th pick in the third round of the supplemental draft on Monday and it was initially expected he would be in camp on Tuesday. But his arrival was delayed by contract negotiations. Or so we were told.

It is more than a coincidence that he was signed on the day off, and the Raiders have just one training camp practice left before breaking camp. Signing him on a day off limits the amount of initial questions and probing about their newest prospect. After the final camp practice, all following practices are closed to the media.

There was no rush to get him into the fold because he won’t be available to the team until week six of the season anyway. This way the team can evaluate him without the prying eyes of the media as well as the large contingency of fans who have attended practice the last few days. This way the Raiders can get a better idea of how they want to use him without criticism of his every move.

His role initially will be that of a “secret” weapon. Not that he is a big secret but how the Raiders will utilize his athletic abilities remains to be seen. And they would prefer to keep it that way.

Pryor will have one week of practice before being eligible to play in the final preseason game. He will have just two weeks of practice before his five game suspension begins and he is not allowed to practice.

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